


T.I.N.D.E.R (The.Iron-Bull.Notorious.Dating.Extravaganza.Regime)

by FallingT



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Dating, Drugged Drink, Drugs, F/M, I was just trying to write something on this new Oc, M/M, Mild Transphobia, Pining, Self-deprecating humour, The Iron Bull sees /everything/, a bit of douchery at some point, better safe than sorry, blind dates, came out of nowhere, it's only minor but it's there, jelousy, this is something silly, welp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-22 07:14:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9590729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingT/pseuds/FallingT
Summary: Nadia is part of Ambassador Montilyet's staff, and after two months of none-stop work, she finally has a break to catch her breath. When Bull gets wind that she hasn't been laid since their arrival at Skyhold, he takes it on himself to set Nadia up on some blind dates.But what is his /real/ end game?Shenanigans Ensue.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> So, this came to me in a moment of pure nonsense.   
> I was just sulking about my pretty much none-existent love life, and after some mental twirls, I came up with this.   
> To clarify some things:   
> Nadia Pentaghast is my Oc, but yes, she is part of the Pentaghast Clan - the one branch descending from the Van Markham Clan to be precise.   
> Her background will be briefly mentioned but does not play a relevant part in the end game of this story.   
> That said, please enjoy!

There were those rare periods of time, in Skyhold, when the Keep was strangely emptied of all guests, nobles and dignitaries, leaving behind only the effective members of the Inquisition to roam its halls and corridors. Those were blessed moments for everyone, and usually, however long the pause had been programmed by Ambassador Montilyet, they were spent in blessed calm and quiet. It was, after all, the only time that the stuff under the Ambassador had to slow down and take a breather.  

Nadia, as a senior member of the ambassadorial stuff, was also enjoying her down time; it was the first time in two months that she had the chance to, for starters, not to wake up before dawn, and, more importantly, to spend her nights at the Tavern, drinking the shadiest of spirits without bothering to hide her more… _impudent_ side. It was, after all, not exactly proper to make sexual innuendos and rude comments towards the people she was working with, meaning that the Herald Rest, populated by soldiers and everyone who did not bear a noble title, was the only place where she could let go of her working façade. Not that she minded keeping it up – Nadia _did_ love her job – but every so often, even she liked to just _let go_.

“Ah, look who’s here!” a familiar voice bellowed as she easily maneuvered herself in between the bodies that occupied the tavern; it was just about time for supper, and a whole lot of people had gathered to share a meal and a drink.

Nadia beamed when her eyes caught on the sight of Bull’s massive bulk over the crowd, and with a renewed determination to her steps, fought her way towards the back of the room, where the Chargers and their Chief loved to hang about.

“Hey there! Long time no see!” she greeted cheerfully while a chair was produced, seemingly out of thin air, for her to seat on.

The Iron Bull reciprocated with a fond laugh and a pat on her back – which probably injured some of her muscles, but whatever.

“The Ambassador has been sucking you dry, huh?” Krem said, turning towards her with a mug in his hand. His cheeks were already flushed, and Nadia could tell he was already on his merry way towards happy-town.

“Mmh, wouldn’t you _love_ to know?”  she replied playfully, a smirk appearing on her lips when Krem sputtered a bit and had to cough in order to properly get down the alcohol he had almost choked on.

Bull’s bellowing laugh echoed in the whole tavern, and his lieutenant turned an adorable shade of red all over his face.

“Ah, I knew there was a reason I liked having you around!” he exclaimed, raising his tankard towards her in a sign of appreciation.

“It’s my _amazing_ sense of humor, right? Because I don’t think I have anything else to endear myself” she said, smirking slightly at her own self-deprecation. It was a habit of hers, albeit not a great one, to always make fun of herself. Sometime it helped to defuse serious situations, other it was just an instrument to her own shallowness, a way to hear others contradict her and praise her in return. It was never done to be pitied, though. She was not the kind of person that went around comparing the problems of others to her own, making it clear that her situation was _obviously worse_.

The quick and sharp look she received from the qunari, spoke volumes on the level of knowledge he had regarding her.

“Oh, I don’t know, you do have some amazing tits – he pointed out, adding a lustful gaze to mark his point before his eye went to the other side of Nadia – doesn’t she, Krem?” he asked nonchalantly. Almost _too_ nonchalantly.

The poor man, dragged in the discussion by his traitorous boss, completely lost any trace of his caramel coloured skin to the violent blush that spread all over his face.

“I uh- yeah…I mean, not that I’ve been staring, but-” he sputtered and stumbled on his words for a few more sentences before he decided to shut himself up by drowning the contents of his tankard.

Nadia decided to ignore the fact that she, too, was feeling a little flustered, and blamed the sudden warmth to the impossibly high temperature of the tavern.

“Well, my _amazing tits_ and I would love a drink, Mr. Mercenary Captain, if you so feel inclined!” she then crooned to the qunari, raising her eyebrows suggestively and batting her eyelashes at him until he stood up, low chuckle rumbling in his chest, and went to fetch her something to get drunk on.

“You sure can order the Chief around, huh? Handy talent to have” Krem commented as he watched Bull parting the crowd to make his way to Cabot.

Nadia turned to look over her shoulder and gave him a wistful hum.

“Can’t really say I know how I picked that one up” she admitted, offering a somewhat sheepish smile to the Lieutenant.

Nadia had made the acquaintance of the Chargers and The Iron Bull the exact same day they arrived back in Haven; Ambassador Montilyet had put her in charge of getting them all settled, providing for them everything that they would require to make themselves comfortable around camp. It was of the utmost importance that they felt welcome and comfortable if they were to integrate successfully with the Inquisition in its entirety and, also, as they were under contract with the Inquisition as well, it was essential that they, as an Organization, made a good and lasting first impression.

And so Nadia had spent a considerable amount of time helping them to get settled, learning each and every name of the Company’s members and their necessities; and that had included being exposed to The Iron Bull for longer periods at a time, allowing her to learn how to read the qunari and swindle her way in his graces.

At this point in time, after all they had gone through together with her, Nadia – who had been more than happy to hang around the group once she had got a sense on how they worked as a whole – had basically been made an honorary Charger. And, even if theoretically they did no longer require her help as an intermediary, she was definitely eager to do so for them. The extra work only meant extra time spent in the Tavern to discuss business, and she was not about to complain about _that_.

“Maybe we should all do as Madame De Fer does, with ‘er ‘horny’ hat ‘an all. I bet he’d listen to me a whole lot more” the man grumbled, the last part directed more to himself rather than at her, which made her chuckle.

Krem was extremely good at his job, the Chargers respected him and followed his orders as de facto boss when Bull was out with the Inquisitor, and the qunari deferred to him in every other matter. More than her little subterfuges to have The Iron Bull do things for her, Krem was the impressive one when it came to controlling the man; even if, at times, the qunari was impossible to handle and the Tevinter ended up with one more headache to manage.

"So, what did I miss?" Bull's voice asked, and immediately after a tankard appeared on the table in front of her, contents slushing slightly as it settled.

"Nothing much, we were just... _brainstorming"_ Nadia replied, smiling cheekily at him when he reappeared in her line of sight.

"Uh uh"

The conversation picked up from there, with Nadia recounting the weirdest between the encounters she had had with various nobles and dignitaries, and The Chargers - Dalish, Grimm, and Stiches had joined them too, at some point - telling her about their latest job; they had just returned from scouting whatever remained of Haven, a grim necessity that had ended with nothing more than some lost provision that had survived under the snow.

No signs of survivors.

Too much time had passed in between the attack and their stay at Skyhold, it was ludicrous to even hope, but still...

At some point in the night, when they were all on their marry way in their third or fourth round, Krem and the others had pulled away from their table to defuse a brawl between Skinner and some prick soldier that had had the balls of calling her a 'Knife-ear', and Nadia and Bull were left alone to their own devices.

"So, a little bird told me you've been going dry since we settled here" Bull said suddenly, literally out of the blue, causing the woman to choke a little on the alcohol she was drinking.

"Wha- who- what?!" She sputtered some more before a blush settled itself on her cheeks.

And here was a downside of being so intertwined with this man and his company: there was no hiding anything. Personal matters were so, but only for a limited amount of time.

Of course The Iron Bull would have never brought it up if he didn’t know that Nadia was fairly comfortable – if not a bit embarrassed – talking about her private life.

His rumbling laughter only managed to fuel her blush further though.

“There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Nadia. I bet the Ambassador keeps you quite busy, but you oughta relax a bit, otherwise you’ll crack sooner than later” he said, putting it simply.

Nadia pouted.

“You know, it’s not like I’m enjoying this either, but I’m not you, you lumbering sex machine! I can’t just flaunt around and take the first sod that comes about to warm my bed” she explained, crossing her arms over her chest defensively and pouting harder.

She might have been good at her job, putting up a front to interact with people, but it always felt more like going to a party in Orlais and playing the Game, acting a part; she was far too reserved to apply the same tactic in more than the professional area.

“Yeah, I get that. That’s why I think I can help” he replied, shrugging his massive shoulders at her.

Her eyebrows shot up.

“Define _help_. Because I’d rather not end up with all my small burned to dust by your impossibly handsome boyfriend” she pointed out with a frown.

“Ah, no. Nothing of the sort. I was thinking more of a _blind dates_ kinda situation”

Nadia blinked once.

Then blinked again when the serious expression on Bull’s face remained there for more than thirty seconds.

“I’m sorry, did I just hear you say that you want to _set me up_ on _blind dates_?” she asked, her voice pitching on those very specific concepts that she was having a hard time believing had just left his mouth first, and then hers.

Bull shrugged.

“Why not. I know some people who would be interested, and I know you enough to know what you’d like – he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. His good eye shining with a good portion of mischief. – So?”

Nadia bit her lower lip, munching slightly at the skin, fighting hard against her fight or flee instinct.

Usually she would not let a friend to butt in her love life, but on the other hand she _was_ starting to feel some tension, which had reflected on her work as well…

“Fine. Do your magic. I already know I’m going to regret this, anyway.”


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some triggers here: non-con, attempted rape, drugs, roofies...  
> Just saying; if you feel uncomfortable with any of these, then please stop reading right after the second paragraph break, I'll mark it with (**) to be double sure.  
> You can skip directly to where you'll find another of this (**), where it should be safe to keep reading.

It took Nadia exactly two days and a ‘blind date’ to start regretting the decision of letting The Iron Bull mess with her personal life.

The supposedly _first date_ had took place not far from the keep, in a groove where the air was strangely warm and the grass was painted in beautiful colours by an incredible amount of flowers. The person she was supposed to meet had turned up with an hour of delay, with a picnic basket under an arm and an apology ready on his lips. The man was one of Commander Cullen’s soldier, and was certainly pleasing to the eye; he had broad shoulders, light brown hair and eyes, and a smile that was warm and welcoming. It could have been a seamless victory for her...a pity the man had paraded an intelligence of a ram.

Despite her better judgment, though, Nadia had just enjoyed the sight of a handsome man sprawled on the grass, some nice wine and the downtime.

And when the sun went down, she gracefully made her retreat, ignoring the disappointed looks he kept throwing her way...no doubt he had expected a different outcome.

That same night Nadia had made a beeline for the tavern, seeking the comfort of mead, and to whine endlessly to the mercenary captain in light of his first failure.

But, of course, The Iron Bull was nowhere to be seen that night.

"'sup with that face, huh?" A voice chirped from behind, and Nadia turned to see the tattooed face of Dalish, observing her with those unnervingly big eyes of hers.

"I was looking for your boss, you know where he is?" She asked back instead, raising an eyebrow at her as she made a show of looking around the qunari-less tavern.

"Mmmh, saw him with the Vint, guess he won't show up tonight" the elf mused, taking a seat next to the other woman.

Nadia groaned.

"Of course, give it to him to disappear when you need him" she muttered under her breath, taking a heavy pull from her glass.

"Something happened?"

Nadia sighed.

"Not really, just wanted to whine about something he made me do..." She trailed off, not really in the mood to admit she had agreed to go on blind dates just because Bull had suggested it.

"Was it something illegal?"

This time she snorted.

"Should have been" was her reply, though she felt somewhat guilty at having voiced that thought. The poor sod hadn't got what he wanted, either.

Dalish gave her a long, wistful look, look that soon turned to Nadia could only compare to a wide eyed halla.

Which made her frown.

"What"

"Don't tell me.... _you_ are the one who fell for TINDER!" She gasped, a hand in front of her gaping mouth for good effect.

"The fuck is _tinder_?"

"The Iron Bull Notorious Dating Extravaganza Regime" a gruff voice replied from behind her, giving away the owner’s annoyance with them.

Nadia’s head bent backwards, her long jet black hair falling behind her back, and she came face-to-face-down with a disgruntled Krem.

The lieutenant let go of a huff as he took the chair next to Dalish, weariness etched in every line of his _very_ handsome face.

Silence settled on the group as the man motioned for one of the waitresses to come over and take his order; Nadia took a second to give him a look over, and she immediately picked up the signs of his discomfort.

“Is everything alright Cremisius?” she asked, pleased to see that he responded immediately to her change of registry; she only called him by his given name when they were working, and never in the tavern. Krem’s head quickly whipped towards her,  and his chocolate brown eyes met hers halfway.

Well, she had his attention now.

“I, uh… Yes, it’s nothing, I’m just tired, is all” he breathed out, a hand sneaking on his right shoulder, kneading in the muscles there.

Nadia’s eyes momentarily followed the motion, and she lost her focus for a split second as she admired his muscles flex under his bronzed skin.

Maker, but what was he feeding on? Those arms should have been declared an heresy from the Chantry…

Next to her she heard Dalish cough non-conspicuously, and she came back to her senses.

“Oh, I see. You ran the drills with the Commander today, right? That must have been some workout”  she mused, not entirely convinced he was telling them everything. There was no way in the Void that he would be that worn out just because of some drills with the troops; he’d been doing that since Haven, and Maker only knew how _fit_ he was. Something must have happened to him, but she knew nothing if not diplomacy, and that taught her never to push someone for information. He didn’t feel like sharing, then she wouldn’t force it out of him.

“Yeah, pretty much” he replied, sighing and forcing a laugh out.

When the drinks came, the group – or Dalish, at the very least – diverted the conversation back on its original tracks.

 _Tinder_.

“Did you really let the Boss pick out random men for you? Are you crazy?” the elven mage- pardon, _archer_ – asked her in disbelief, torn in between laughing at her and offering a shoulder to cry on.

“When you put it like _that_ …” Nadia grumbled in reply, suddenly rethinking the whole affair while she nursed her drink. 

“Well, at the very least he knows what he’s doing. He’ll never throw you in the arms of a bastard” Dalish pointed out, wagging her forefinger in the air to give more emphases to her statement.

Nadia snorted.

“He might be a trained spy, but even he can’t know everything about everyone. Plus, even real knights in shining armour are douches, anyway” she huffed as she expressed her disillusion. She was not thirteen anymore, gallant men swiping her off her feet were something she didn’t believe in anymore.

 

Nadia usually loved to be right, and she would always stick to her beliefs, but sometimes she was not displeased to know that she was wrong.

The night after her conversation with Dalish, she met up with another of Bull’s set up dates, and she was pleased to find out that the man he had chosen, though he lacked in the looks department in comparison to the first one, was much more mentally stimulating and engaging.

His name was Jordan, and he was at Skyhold for business.

He was tall and had pretty green eyes, his voice was velvety and he was well mannered.

During their evening together, Nadia found out he actually was the son of some minor Bann of Ferelden, had had a very extensive education and had travelled all over southern Thedas.

He had been a bit baffled to discover that her full name consisted of, other than her first name, three more middle names and two surnames, and that she was part of the Nevarra Royal Clan; but upon Nadia’s reassurance that she was as far as possible down the line for the throne, he had seemed to regain some of his composure.

Nadia might have been a Markham-Pentaghast, but she certainly did not think of herself as part of the Royal Family. Sure, she was a noble, but more than that…

(**)

The night proceeded quite smoothly, with the pair discussing a variety of topics ranging from which cheese was more appreciated in Ferelden at the moment, to literature and poetry, to their respective lines of work, with even a small dip in the gossip ring here and there. It was only towards the end of the night that Nadia started to feel drowsiness overcoming her; it was strange, she hadn’t had a lot to drink, and even then she was used to carry her own weight when it came to alcohol. No, she concluded, that felt _different_. She felt heavy, felt as if even the tines of movements would require an amount of strength she did not posses.

Her eyelids started to fall on their own accord, and she faintly heard Jordan ask her if she was alright.

The next thing she knew, was that the man was now half carrying her, saying something on the lines of _I’m bringing you to your room, don’t worry_ , but Nadia couldn’t be sure. Her head was all muddled up, thoughts were lost here and there, scattered and with no beginning or end, and as the seconds passed, she found it harder to even _think_ at all.

The more she tried to clear her head, the more she felt tired.

Eventually, she passed out.

When she came back to her senses, the first thing her mind registered, was the cold. She was cold. All over. But especially on her upper body.

She grunted in annoyance as she tried to look down, confusion sizing her up when she found herself in a state of undress from the waist up.

_What in Andraste-_

She didn’t even manage to finish the thought before Jordan came in to focus, a wicked grin splitting his face and something akin to satisfaction glinting in his eyes; eyes that Nadia had thought gentle and intelligent, and that now only looked cruel.

Fear ran mercilessly through her body, and she discovered that, despite her hands not being bound, she could not move.

“You’re awake, finally. I was _almost_ bored, you know. It is no fun doing this if you don’t struggle” he singsonged, stepping towards where she was on the bed.

“Wh- what are you going to do?” she asked, her voice wavering with fear and anxiety.

She was scared, Maker she was _so scared_.

Jordan laughed, making her shiver.

“What does it look like I’m going to do to you, lass? Uh?” he replied, edging closer and closer, until he was standing right in the middle of her open legs – a position _he_ had put her in, no doubt.

Words failed her as he lowered himself on top of her.

Disgust mixed itself to the fear as she felt his gross breath on her skin, followed soon after by his hands and mouth.

He _touched_ her, bit her on her neck, shoulders and breasts, all the while spouting vulgar and vile things about what he was going to do to her…

Nadia could feel bile rose in her stomach, but was unable to react.

In that moment she was merely a spectator of her own body, not fully conscious of what was happening.

That changed the second his hands inched lower and lower, running along her tights and towards her core. That triggered something in her, and suddenly she remembered all those times that Bull had had her practicing some self defense; in a single motion her hands went to his face, gripping it tightly and pulling it towards her. He offered no resistance, probably thinking he had broken her in, that she was _complying,_ and when he was near enough, she bashed his head with hers.

The sickening crunch of bones getting crushed only served as fuel, and as the bastard howled in pain over his now broken nose, Nadia took her opportunity to escape, throwing his dead weight off of her.

Her legs were shaking so badly she almost fell face first on the stone floor, but the momentum of her escape kept her going.

She was halfway out the door when he caught up to her, circling her waist from behind.

Her first reaction was dictated more from her muscles memory than anything.

So Nadia _singed_.

Her elbow went forward and then back, hitting the son of a bitch right in the solar plexus, then she raised her foot, bringing it down right on the instep of his right foot, which had him bend forward a bit. That opened him up from yet another blow to his already crushed nose, which had him screaming, but not as much as when Nadia finally got to most important part of all, punching him right in his groin.

That was it.

He let her go, crumpling to the ground in a mass of pain, and Nadia took it as her cue to bolt.

(**)

She ran out the door, not looking back, and made it on the battlements. She kept running, not really sure where she should be going, until she run straight into someone.

“Maker, are you alright?” the person asked, and the question was immediately followed by a his as they took in their disheveled state.

“I’m fi-“ the words died in her throat as she raised her head, only to be faced with the horrified expression painted all over Krem’s face.

“Nadia, what happened to you?!” Krem’s voice was frantic, almost panicked, as he looked at her, his hands going to her arms to keep her up when he saw her shiver.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and before she could even realize it, she was crying in Krem’s arms, almost incoherently sobbing about what had just happened to her.

Nut she must have been clear enough, for the man’s expression turned in one of blind rage.

“Where is he?! I’m gonna bash that motherfucker’s face right in!” he growled, ready to go and beat the living shit out of the pig that had dared do something so despicable to Nadia.

 _His_ Nadia.

“Please, don’t. – Nadia found herself pleading with him – Don’t leave me alone” she sobbed again, gripping tightly at his shirt.

Not a moment later those words had left her lips, she felt strong, warm arms encircling her, and she found herself enveloped in Krem’s hug, her face resting in the crook of his neck.

“Alright, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise” he whispered to her, trying to sooth her.

Soon enough her sobs stopped along with her tears, and her whole body shut down, unable to take any more stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this whole fic to be finished by now, but the world seemed hell bent on getting me sick, so I'm doing it a bit later than intended.  
> Anyhow, hoped you liked part 2, part3 should be coming soon-ish :)  
> ps: who got the reference in this chapter?? :D


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Punching douchebags in the nose since 9:41 Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this last part was going to be out sooner than the one before, but guess what? It didn't  
> I got sick /again/ and then started supplementary classes with a lot of homework and I fell behind schedule. But fear not, we have reached the end!   
> NB: Mild transphobia towards the end, marked with **

When Nadia woke up, she came to in a room that was drowning in sunlight streaming in from seemingly every angle of the place. The first coherent thought that crossed her still sleepy head, was that her room had barely a window, and sun never shone through it if not in the afternoon.

A silver of panic made its way through her guts, and she forced herself to open her eyes.

When she did, she came face to face with a fast asleep Dalish, half slumped next to her on the bed, blonde hair all mussed up; her staff was also laying in hand’s reach.

What in the Maker's name was going on?

And why did she feel so fucking hangover? She did not recall getting smashed drunk the night before...

Jordan's face flashed quickly in front of her eyes, and she immediately recalled everything that had happened to her.

Suddenly, the memory was replaced by the feeling of warm, strong, arms encircling her, and a bit of her wellbeing seemed to be restored.

Nadia tried to move around a bit, shuffling backwards untill her back was supported by the headboard of the bed; throughout the whole action, she had to bit her lips to avoid groaning out loud, or worse, throw up all over Dalish since her stomach seemed extremely adverse to the motion.

The movement stirred the elven mage nonetheless, and soon Nadia was impatiently waiting for Dalish to wake up fully and explain.

Finally, the woman turned to look at her.

"Ah, you're up" she said simply, probably unable to formulate longer sentences still.

"Barely" Nadia replied, a hand going to massage at her temples as a particularly sharp shock of pain made her head throb.

"Here, take this."

Nadia followed Dalish's hand as it dove in one of her pockets and emerged with a sealed vial.

"What's in it?" She asked, eyeing the contents with a dubious look.

"Dorian dropped it here earlier, said it would help once you woke up" the mage replied, shrugging as she handed her the potion.

The woman eyed the vial with a certain amount of distrust as she took it from the mage; she was considering whether she _really_ needed it, but a particularly vicious wave of headache and nausea made the decision for her. Without further ado, she put the glass near her lips and ticked the whole thing down at once. The thick liquid burned all the way down to her throat, leaving behind a bitter sweet taste that, for a split second, made her want to throw up fiercely. Her stomach, though, treacherous organ as it was, immediately settled once whatever she had drank reached it. A minute later, even the headache was quickly receding.

“Well, whatever that was, it looks like it worked” Dalish commented as she watched the colour return slightly to her face.

Nadia, despite the lightness she was feeling all over, grimaced.

“Let’s just hope I never have to drink this again” she retorted, glaring slightly at the offender she was still holding in her hand.

Now that the fog of pain was gone, Nadia had the proper state of mind to ask questions.

First and foremost:

“Where are we, by the way? I don’t recognize this room” she wondered out loud as she gave a second take to the place, noticing the complete state of disarray the room was in. There was debris _everywhere_ , piled atop of dust and…was that an ax embedded on the foot of the bed?

“Chief’s old room. The Vint convinced him to move over once things got serious” the elf replied, shrugging.

At the news, the first thing that went through her mind was just one:

 _I hope someone changed the sheets at some point_.

“Krem brought you here after you passed out on the battlements” she added noticing her point blank expression.

Nadia blinked a few times, grunting as she moved to get up from the bed.

“Where is he now?” the diplomat asked, taking notice of the absence of both her shoes and the torn clothes she had been wearing the night before.

Someone had changed her in a clean dress.

A small blush spread unnoticed on her dark cheeks at the thought.

“He’s with Bull and the Spymaster. I think they’re interrogating the guy who assaulted you” Dalish supplied, raising from her chair, picking up Nadia’s intentions of getting up and about as well. She moved to a still intact drawer in a corner of the room and returned to the woman with a coat and her boots.

“They’re down in the dungeons if you wanna catch up” she added then, almost as an afterthought.

Nadia accepted the coat, swinging her legs of bed before bending down to shrug on her boots.

“Thanks, I’ll head there, then”

She needed to get there before either of them decided that the man posed too much of a threat, which would have resulted with his death. Not that she was _that_ against seeing him hang for what he had attempted to do to her – and had probably succeeded doing to other, less fortunate women before her, but there were certain things to take in to consideration before recurring to such hasty methods.

At her words, the elf nodded once and left the room without adding anything else.

Once both her boots had been laced up, she put the coat over her dress – thank the Maker it was an actual dress and not a simple night shift – and went for the door that led to the Tavern.

She was surprised to notice that no one turned to look at her when she passed, expecting stolen glances and low whispers instead of going by completely unnoticed. Had the rumor mill not caught wind of what had happened to her, yet?

Nadia frowned.

This was not natural, not in Skyhold where rumors spread quicker than wildfires.

Someone must have contained the piece of news.

Relieved, but at the same slightly more preoccupied, she hurried through the Herald’s Rest and the upper bailey, barely stopping to offer  a nod at the soldier stationed near the door to the dungeons. The man nodded back at her, opening the door for her.

Nadia’s face was quite well known by those who were assigned there; more than once she had been tasked by Ambassador Montilyet to escort the prisoners from the cells to the main hall of the hold along with the soldiers, so by now she knew her footing well around the prison.

She quickly descended the set of stairs, slowing down only when she could hear familiar voices speaking in turns, asking question.

If they were still questioning, it meant that Jordan was still alive.

 

Krem was the first one to notice Nadia as she stepped down the last set of stairs and entered the room, his eyes snapping towards her immediately, swiping up and down her form to assess her wellbeing. When he saw that she was fine, some of the tension in his shoulders eased.

Her footsteps immediately echoed in the almost empty room, and both spies turned towards her, watching her approach the cell they were standing in front of.

Nadia took a deep breath and nodded respectfully at them both, stopping just short of the cell, just out of sight.

“We weren’t expecting you, Lady Markham” Leliana pointed out as a way of greeting, bowing her head back.

“I know, but I feel my presence is necessary to maintain a certain level of _diplomacy_ , Sister”  Nadia replied, stressing a bit on the last word.

Leliana wasn’t exactly known for being merciful, not even on her better days, and she had worked long enough with Bull to know how he operated, especially if one of his people had been threatened.

The diplomat shifted her eyes towards the qunari, his one good eye meeting hers halfway; they exchanged a long, meaningful look: _we have to talk_.

Nadia scowled a bit at that, but her focus was quickly moved towards the man in the cell. She took one more step forward, taking in his bruised and bloodied figure with one single glance.

She couldn’t say she was sorry for him, he definitely _deserved_ a good beating, but she was glad she had come before they decided he wasn’t worth the trouble.

Her icy stare on him soon got his attention, his bruised eyes opening slightly to look up at her through the bars.

“…-lease…p-please” his voice cracked “I-I’m sorry!” he tried to say, his throat scratching on every syllable that left his lips.

Nadia’s face seemed made out of stone, no emotion slipped through and the man could honestly not say what was going through her mind.

He pleaded some more, and everyone in the room but the diplomat shifted a bit uncomfortably, waiting for Nadia to get out of her head and speak.

When she did, no one was expecting what came out of her mouth.

“I won’t forgive what you did to me and what you would have done, had I not punched you in the face, but I won’t let you die in a ravine for wild animals to pick at your corpse. That would be too easy. You need to live through your shame, and the Inquisition will make sure of it. We will make sure to terminate each and every relation with you and your family, and you will leave Skyhold at once. Your family will be notified of your actions and the reasons behind such decision; what will happen to you then will be in their hands. You will not be able to set up any kind of activity in each area and city were the Inquisition has influence, I will promise you that. And also, if you even think about doing what you did to me to any other woman, be sure the Inquisition will know, and we _will_ find you” she proclaimed, head held high and hands behind her back as she threatened him in the most polite way possible.

Leliana smirked lightly, she could see Josephine work and words reflected in every aspect on Nadia. She certainly had inherited all the diplomatic traits of the family that Cassandra lacked.

With one last glare she turned on her heels, facing the Nightingale, who in turn was regarding her with somewhat of a proud look in her eyes.

“Can I trust you will report all this to both Ambassador Montilyet and the Inquisitor, Sister?” Nadia asked, wariness bleeding into her face with one, long, breath.

“Don’t worry, it will be done” Leliana assured her, bowing her head.

“Thank you” and with an half bow she made for the exit.

The Iron Bull watched her back as she climbed the stairs, then turned towards his lieutenant and motioned for him to follow her. She needed not to be alone.

Krem nodded and rushed to catch up to her, reaching her when she was already out the door and in the yard.  She was marching towards the stairs to the battlements like a woman on a mission, and he had to jog to get to her.

“Nadia, wait!” Krem shouted loud enough to catch her attention, and the woman stopped at the sound of his voice, turning to see him approach. A small smile graced her lips, and Krem felt a bit of his discomfort leave him. It was somehow strange to see her be so ruthless and polite at the same time, which made him kind of aware that he would not like being on the other side of one of those conversations…ever.

“Hey” she greeted once he was standing in front of her.

“Hey. How are you feeling? That must have been tough” he said, a small, understanding smile pulling at his lips.

Nadia, though, grimaced at his words, her brows knitting together.

“Walk with me?” she said, instead of giving him a reply.

Krem nodded once and followed next to her as she took for the stairs right next to where Seeker Pentaghast was beating the shit out of her training dummies. The woman spared them a glance, exchanging a quick understanding with her cousin, and then returned to her swordsmanship. They climbed the steps in silence, Nadia deep in thought, and Krem did not feel like forcing her out of them.

They walked some distance, past the Mages’ Tower, and then Nadia stopped, leaning on the stone, her eyes lost somewhere in the mountains.

“Are you ok, Nadia?” Krem asked after a while, worried that she still hadn’t said a word.

A long, deep, sigh left her lungs, and finally she turned to face him.

“I’m sorry, I-…Yes, I’m fine. I’m just still processing all of _that_ ” she blurted out, hands sneaking up to rub at her eyes.

Suddenly she felt exhausted despite the fact that she had just woken up not even an hour before.

“I can’t imagine how that’d feel…” he paused, a frown knitting at his brows. “Why didn’t you let Bull and the Nightingale deal with him? I’d gladly have punched the bastard in the ground” he added, a little bit of the anger he was feeling seeping into his words.

That pulled a smirk from her.

“Believe me, were we somewhere else and in another setting, I’d have gladly let you do it” she snorted, using the same expression as him.

“Then why didn’t you?” he pressed on, really not understanding her reasons for doing what she did back there.

“It’s pretty simple, actually. We are part of the Inquisitions, and as we stand now, we cannot bloody our hands for every minor offense to its members. Shit is bound to happen in an organization as big as this one, if we show the world we are nothing more than brutes that solve problems by eliminating them physically, then we lose credibility. Inquisitor Lavellan already has trouble being taken seriously by the majority of the nobility, I won’t give them more excuses to discredit her and this Inquisition. That’s why I did what I did. We must show the people that we are just and rightful, and that we do not fool around. So it really doesn’t matter how much I’d like to see that fucking bastard hang, we do what is best for the Inquisition” she concluded, her arms going limp at her sides after having moved almost frantically throughout the whole explanation.

Krem took his time to absorb her words, but ultimately, he couldn’t argue with her point.

“Yeah, ok. I get it” he finally conceded, and he could see Nadia’s eyes perking up at his words; it really meant a lot to her that he could see where she was coming from.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though” he added then, stealing a giggle from the woman.

“I don’t like it either, trust me” she agreed, smiling cheekily.

Silence settled back between the two of them, this time less heavy and more relaxed, but charged with something different as they stared into each other’s eyes.

Nadia was the first one to break eye contact, a blush blooming from her ears to her nose as the memory of his strong, warm arms enveloping her flooded back into her head; she found herself disappointed that she had passed out, losing her chance to know how it felt to be carried around like that.

Something she hadn’t even thanked him for, yet.

“Hey, listen, I-uh…wanted to thank you…for taking care of me, that is” she blurted out, chancing a glance at Krem through her lashes.

Krem, on his part, was startled by the sudden change in her demeanor, all her confidence seemingly washed away and replaced by an unexpected shyness. He sputtered a bit, unsure how to reply without sounding like a complete idiot, and he stumbled a bit with the words that were piling up on his knotted tongue when she looked up at him.

“That was uh-, it was nothing really. I’d do it again with pleasure- ah! Not that I hope for the same circumstances to repeat them self, I meant-“ he fumbled some more before a bubbling laughter coming from Nadia put an end to him embarrassment.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Nadia said, taking a step forward. Her right hand sneaked up to play with one of the buckles of his chest piece, and Krem started to feel warm despite the cold breeze that always blew from the mountains.

“Say, would you like to have a drink tonight? No Chargers, no Tavern, just…you and me?” she asked, eyes one more downcast with embarrassment. It probably was the first time that she made a move on someone, but she felt emboldened by his reactions.

Krem inhaled sharply, incredulous that _that_ was really happening to him. He had liked Nadia since the beginning, loving her for her professionalism and her innate ability to fit with the Chargers as if she were born to be a part of their company; but he had never acted on it, deciding instead that a good friendship was enough. After all, she was a noble, and in line for the Nevarran throne no less, and he was a nobody, a mercenary from Tevinter…

His own head though, was way ahead of him, it seemed.

A chance had been presented, and he would not miss it.

His own hands seemed to move on their own accord when they took her free own in them, bringing it up to his lips.

At the feeling of his moist lips on the back of her hand, Nadia snapped her eyes up, only to be met with melted chocolate looking back at her. Her blush seemed to burn brighter than the sun as he gently kissed her hand, eyes never leaving hers.

“I’d love to” he replied, his voice even more huskier than usual, and Nadia had to fought back a faint spell.

A set of steps coming towards them caught their attention, and the moment was quickly ruined when a voice spoke up, disgust laced tightly in its words.

(**)

“Oh look what we have here! Two lovely ladies making heart eyes at each other!” the voice cooed mockingly.

Nadia didn’t move an inch from where she was standing, but she turned her iciest glare towards the soldier that had now stopped some paces from them. He was wearing the Inquisition standard uniform, his arms and shoulders tight under the armour in a clear sign of hostility.

“Do you need something _soldier_?” the diplomat asked, her words cutting even though her tone remained perfectly neutral.

“Just wanted to let you know that this one don’t have the parts to satisfy a lady” he replied nonchalantly, shrugging, but with the same undertone of disgust in his voice.

Nadia heard Krem sigh next to her, his hands leaving hers as he took a step back. The sudden cold was like a slap to her face.

He might shrug it off and say it was nothing, that he was used to it, but she disagreed.

This kind of verbal abuse was _not_ something one should get used to, and she would not stand it.

Her hands were already tingling, but she approached the soldier with measured steps and a mask of politeness on her face.

“Pray tell, _soldier_ , who exactly here asked for your opinion?” Nadia asked, shocking both Krem and the uniformed man in front of her.

“I’m sure that, despite the _evident_ lack of a proper education, you could see that this was a private moment you interrupted. So, would you care to apologize to Lieutenant Aclassi for your rudeness, or should I take more _drastic_ measures?” she went on, uncaring of the lack of response from her interlocutor. It wasn’t even midday and she was already fed up with people’s bullshit…

The soldier sneered at her words, making it very clear that he had no intention to apologize for what he would certainly classify as _his opinion_ or, worse, _the truth_.

“Oh yeah? And what do you think you can do, punch-“

Before he was even finished with that sentence, Nadia’s right arm bent and pulled back, and her fist collided with the cretin’s nose.

The crunch of broken bones was one of the most satisfying sounds she had ever heard.

The soldiers yelped with both pain and surprise, and immediately tried to recoil from her nearness, scattering on the ground and leaving blood splatters in his wake; his nose was bleeding profusely.

“Now. You have to options here: you can either report to Commander Cullen and tell him you’re going to volunteer to clean the latrines for three months, or I can go and find The Iron Bull and tell him you insulted his Lieutenant. The choice is yours, _soldier_ ” she said, this time spitting the title that did not fit the man in the slightest.

It took the man less than a minute to pull himself together and run away.

“Tell the Commander that Lady Markham says hi!” she called to his back as she watched his retreating figure in one of the towers.

A second later, Nadia let go of another sigh.

“I’m sorry…I even just told you that violence wasn’t the answer…” she breathed, closing her eyes and rubbing at them with the palms of her hands.

It was incredible how many douchebags she’s had to deal with in less than a day...

Her eyes shot open when she felt his take them away from where they were rubbing, and her fingers almost reflexively intertwined with his.

When he pulled her near, she opposed no resistance.

“That was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me” he said, smiling wickedly down at the incredible woman he was holding.

“I’ll punch assholes for you anytime” she replied, unable to keep the smile from pulling at her lips.

A small chuckle rumbled in Krem’s chest, and Nadia basked in how good it was to feel it reverberate through her.

“Thank you”

Nadia kept smiling, content settling in every nook and cranny of her body.

This, between them, was going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been kinda fun writing a new Oc, especially in this scenario.   
> I never wrote Krem before, but I really love him as a character :D  
> I also would have loved to add in some smut, but honeslty, I don't know enough about transgender people to write them without breaking some unspoken limit or offending someone...so excuse the lack of naked Krem, but I'd like to give justice to every character I write, so maybe I'll go educate myself and then write down some smut ahahah   
> At any rate, thank you all for following this little thing!   
> See you around ;)


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